cocoa
UK[ˈkəʊ.kəʊ]US[ˈkoʊ.koʊ]
n
a dark brown powder made from crushed cacao seeds, used in making chocolate
n
a hot drink made by mixing this powder with milk or water
n
a light reddish-brown color
Etymology
the word 'cocoa' has a fascinating journey shaped by linguistic error. it originates from the nahuatl word 'cacahuatl', referring to the cacao bean. spanish explorers adopted it as 'cacao'. when the term entered english, a scribal confusion in the 18th century merged it with the unrelated word 'coco' (referring to the coconut palm), resulting in the durable misspelling 'cocoa'. this accidental rebranding stuck, and 'cocoa' now specifically denotes the processed product of the cacao bean, distinct from the raw seed.
Analysis
the word is a simplex form. it is a loanword from spanish 'cacao', which itself came from nahuatl 'cacahuatl' (meaning 'bean of the cacao tree'). the english spelling 'cocoa' arose from a mistaken association with the coconut palm in the 18th century.
Examples
she added a spoonful of cocoa to the cake batter.
on cold evenings, i love to curl up with a mug of hot cocoa.
the walls were painted a warm shade of cocoa.